If you think Illinois begins and ends with The Windy City, think again.
Sure, groups can effortlessly get to Illinois from anywhere through Chicago O’Hare International Airport, but the heart of America beats just as strong in the Land of Lincoln’s smaller cities. This is a proudly Midwestern state built by big personalities, from our nation’s greatest president to legendary architect Frank Lloyd Wright and businessman John Deere, creator of the iconic farm equipment that has helped feed Americans for generations.
Defined on its western border by the mighty Mississippi and graced by Route 66, the Prairie State offers easy traveling for motorcoaches down its long, flat byways. Even better is how close many of its most charming communities are to one another — only the Oak Park to Galena leg of the following itinerary takes more than 90 minutes to travel. Best of all? The world-class attractions served up with heaping doses of Heartland hospitality.
Oak Park
Located just 10 miles from Chicago, Oak Park is best known for its connection to Frank Lloyd Wright. America’s greatest architect lived and worked for the first two decades of his career in the suburb, and it boasts 25 of his structures, more than any other single location in the world. According to Gail Orr, tourism consultant for Visit Oak Park, any group’s first stop should be the Frank Lloyd Wright Home and Studio. It’s where Wright birthed the Prairie style of architecture, famed for its flat roofs, horizontal lines and open floor plans.
“The other main attraction is Unity Temple,” Orr said. “It’s a Unitarian Universalist Church and it’s also open for tours. Wright was a Unitarian — he designed it between 1905 and 1909. It’s a UNESCO World Heritage Site and it’s just an amazing building. Groups can walk from the home and studio through the Frank Lloyd Wright Historic District to the temple. It’s only about four blocks. The Wright Trust has a recorded walking tour.”
Wright wasn’t the only big-name creative to call Oak Park home. Ernest Hemingway, the author of classic books like “The Sun Also Rises,” grew up there. Groups can grab an hour-long guided look at the Ernest Hemingway Birthplace Museum before wrapping up their Oak Park adventure with a Historic Homes and Garden Tour. The package includes visits to the Oak Park Conservatory, a nearly century-old Edwardian beauty showcasing 3,000 plants; the 12,000-square-foot Cheney Mansion; and the early Prairie School-style Pleasant Home, where groups can unwind with a boxed lunch on the porch.
Galena
Consistently ranked as one of the Midwest’s best small towns, Galena is a pleasant three-hour drive northwest from Oak Park. A burg of just 3,250 residents, it’s filled with beautifully preserved 19th-century buildings that unspool along its historic Main Street. It’s the perfect place for tour leaders to give groups time on their own, said Tom Rynott, communications director for Galena Country Tourism.
“We have over 125 independently owned businesses, including boutiques, restaurants, galleries, wineries — you name it, we’ve got it. And they’re all within about half a mile of each other on one street downtown.”
After travelers have shopped ’til they’ve dropped, they can relax aboard old-fashioned trolleys, which offer hour-long tours of the town. Other historic hotspots in Galena include the Ulysses S. Grant Home State Historic Site. The handsome former residence of the Civil War general and 18th U.S. president is filled with original Grant family furnishings and gives tours to groups. With more than 6,000 square feet of exhibits, the Galena and U.S. Grant Museum provides an in-depth look not only at the town’s homegrown hero, but also at its lead-mining heritage.
When groups want to enjoy the great outdoors, Rynott suggested a stop at Chestnut Mountain Resort. It offers the usual assortment of downhill fun in the winter, while summer activities include everything from a trip down the Alpine slide to Segway tours.
“They do Mississippi pontoon boat cruises at the bottom of the mountain, too,” Rynott said. “It’s 90 minutes long, and they have an interpreter who talks about the area’s environment and history.”
Moline
Moline, which sits 90 minutes south of Galena on the Mississippi River, is one of the Midwest’s celebrated Quad Cities. Encompassing communities that straddle the waterway in Iowa as well as Illinois, the area hosts the global headquarters of farming equipment manufacturer John Deere. Groups can tour three of the brand’s factories there, including John Deere Seeding in Moline, according to Nicki Brus, Visit Quad Cities business growth and service manager. Tours run an hour and a half and are free of charge.
Leaders may want to plan a whole “plow-wow” tour by including a visit to the Butterworth Center and Deere-Wiman House. Once home to four generations of the Deere family and offering spectacular gardens, the historic mansions are located on the same bluff overlooking the river. Meanwhile, the recently renovated John Deere Pavilion gives travelers an opportunity to “hop up on the combines and take selfies with these huge, beautiful green creatures,” Brus said. “They have staff who will greet the motorcoach and give an overview of who John Deere was and what the company is, and then people can explore on their own.”
Of course, not everything in Moline revolves around agriculture. Groups can get out on the river aboard the Celebration Belle, a 750-passenger paddlewheel vessel that’s the largest non-gaming riverboat on the Upper Mississippi. Options include narrated cruises, lunch cruises and dinner cruises with entertainment. Before heading out of town, groups will appreciate a stop at Lagomarcino’s, a quaint chocolate shop and soda fountain that dates to 1908. It serves goodies like hot fudge sundaes and sandwiches made on house-baked bread.
Peoria
A century ago, the city perched on the Illinois River became known for the phrase, “Will it play in Peoria?” An important stop for vaudeville acts, Peoria was used as a test market by luminaries including Jack Benny and Will Rogers. Nowadays, the community of about 110,000, which is an 80-minute drive southeast from Moline, still serves up blockbuster entertainment at the Peoria Civic Center in downtown. Groups can catch everything from touring Broadway musicals and the Peoria Symphony Orchestra to professional hockey at the venue.
Speaking of sports, Peoria is also home to the massive Louisville Slugger Sports Complex, where groups can check out memorabilia, shop the Team Store, grab a bite at the Suite Fire Bar and Grille and cheer on the Bradley University softball team. Special activities are available, too, said J.D. Dalfonso, CEO of the Peoria Area Convention and Visitors Bureau.
“Louisville Slugger can really tailor those experiences based on what the client wants, whether it’s a tour or things like branding your bat,” he said. “They have a huge indoor dome, so groups can experience the facility in all seasons.”
Impressive spaces abound in Peoria, both indoors and out. The Peoria Riverfront Museum features not only a 40-foot dome planetarium and a 194-seat giant screen movie theater, but also a permanent collection of 15,000 objects spanning art, science and history. The Wildlife Prairie Park gives leaders a wide range of adventures to choose from, including meet and greets with animal ambassadors like Nakoma the Bison, a narrated hayrack trek through the bison and elk pasture, or a ride aboard the Prairie Zephyr train.
Springfield
For Lincoln-loving groups, there can be no more important stop than Springfield. An hour’s drive due south of Peoria, the Illinois capital tells the story of the 16th U.S. president with both depth and drama.
“I suggest motorcoach groups start at the Presidential Library and Museum,” said Darrin Thurman, tourism manager for Visit Springfield, Illinois. “It really gives you a window into Lincoln as a real person, someone who had feelings and had a family. So then you’re more connected to him when you tour the Lincoln Home Site and the Old State Capitol.”
There’s no charge to enter the Old State Capitol State Historic Site, the building where Lincoln tried cases and gave his fabled “House Divided” speech, or the Lincoln Home National Historic Site, the only residence ever owned by Honest Abe. Thurman also recommended leaders arrange for one of Springfield’s historic interpreters to visit with their group. Bookable through the CVB, the personalities available include Abraham Lincoln, his wife, Mary Todd Lincoln, abolitionist Frederick Douglass and Ulysses S. Grant, who first met Lincoln in Springfield.
Along with its blockbuster Lincoln attractions, Springfield gives groups that haven’t gotten their fill of Frank Lloyd Wright the chance to tour one of his most spectacular homes. Designed in 1902, the Dana-Thomas House is a 12,000-square-foot masterpiece filled with Wright art glass and furniture. Before wrapping up their Illinois exploits, nostalgia lovers and “Mother Road” fanatics alike will want to catch the Illinois Route 66 Experience. Tucked inside the Illinois State Fairgrounds, it pays tribute to the Illinois communities located along the road with neon signs, vintage billboards and even a drive-in theater.
